[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/judgement_1630.jpg]][[caption-width-right:300:[[Manga/DeathNote "Watashi wa Simon Belmont desu."]]]]->''"Right on time. Welcome to the time rift."''

''Castlevania: Judgment'' is widely considered the {{oddball|InTheSeries}} in the ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' series. Released in 2008, it was announced as exactly what it was: a 3D ''Castlevania'' {{fighting game}}.

Calling on noted manga artist Takeshi Obata (of ''Manga/HikaruNoGo'' and ''Manga/DeathNote'' fame) to do the artwork, the game boasts a cast of thirteen familiar faces from the entirety of the ''Castlevania'' series in addition to a new game-specific character, justified with an ExcusePlot about pulling people from various time periods to battle a future menace who sought to change history. Long-time bosses {{Dracula}}, {{Death}} and Carmilla were [[PromotedToPlayable playable for the first time ever]]. (Well, [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Dracula]] is debatable...) Battles take place in 3D arenas with their share of obstacles, as well as breakable objects containing items that could be used in addition to each character's natural abilities.

----!!''Judgment'' provides examples of:

* ACupAngst: Maria's storyline, taking place three years after ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood Rondo of Blood]]'', involves being jealous of the other female characters' larger breasts. Aeon tells her point-blank she'll get the figure she craves, but will also mature past the need for it. Something of a MythologyGag since Maria was [[MostCommonSuperPower rather endowed]] at age 12 when she debuted, only for [[ArtShift following depictions]] to tone it down.* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: Fans have noticed certain characters sporting strong similarities to members of the ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur]]'' franchise:** Shanoa is Necrid** Carmilla is Ivy** Grant is Voldo** Golem is Astaroth** Death is Nightmare or Abyss* AncestralWeapon: Simon tries to prove himself worthy of the Vampire Killer whip to Trevor. Eric tries to prove the value of the Alucard Spear to the eponymous donor.* ArcNumber: Aeon has thirteen. Thirteen hours on Aeon's clock, thirteen hits to his Super, thirteen characters brought to the time rift to help him...* ArtShift: [[Manga/DeathNote Takeshi]] [[Manga/HikaruNoGo Obata's]] artwork for this game got a ''strong'' reaction from the fans. Which is ironic, considering that ''Castlevania'' has almost never maintained consistent character depictions over the 25+ years of its existence. Simon Belmont himself has changed outfits and faces repeatedly throughout his career.** Perhaps the shining exception to this is Cornell, whose [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot wolf knight]] redesign is almost unanimously deemed to be awesome and a good step up from his werewolf form in ''Legacy of Darkness''. * BewareTheSillyOnes: Maria Renard has the general looks and attitude you'd expect of a MagicalGirl, and even has the ability to flub her special attacks and combos, resulting in her tripping and falling -- in fact, her Hyper Attack involves her falling flat on her face while trying to pull it off. Despite that, [[FightingClown she can kick plenty of ass if she tries]].* {{BFS}}: Eric's spear is larger than he is. Alucard's sword is of normal size, but he uses the larger Sword Familiar as a sneak attack.* BlessedWithSuck: Prior to his plot point in ''Legacy of Darkness'' establishing that he trained himself to harness such abilities, Cornell seeks to eliminate his beastman nature.** CursedWithAwesome: He's ''still'' a werewolf, so he puts those abilities to good use while hunting the other denizens of the night.* BloodKnight: Shanoa, who's willing to test her power on the Belmonts.* BossBattle: Each character has a boss battle against another character in their regular story modes. When True Story Mode is unlocked, players will battle Aeon one more time (or Dracula if the player is Aeon) before taking on the TrueFinalBoss, the Time Reaper. Dracula is also the final boss in Arcade and Castle modes.* BreakingSpeech: Aeon incorporates these into his Hyper Attacks, with an individualized one for each character, even [[MirrorMatch himself]].* CompositeCharacter: Carmilla is a weird mashup of the Carmilla we've seen in earlier ''Castlevania''s and Elizabeth Bathory. Which is doubly odd as Bathory already had an Expy in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaBloodlines''.* CostumePorn: The character designs give almost everyone very elaborate clothing.* CrisisCrossover: Calling characters from different time periods in ''Castlevania'' history. This is meant to explain why certain incarnations of characters were used, such as Sypha (before her alliance with Trevor and Grant), Eric and Maria (younger versions). According to the official [[http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/Time_rift Castlevania]] [[http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/Judgment_Timeline wiki]], the characters entered the time rift in this order:** Sypha enters the Rift before the events of ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse''. Trevor and Grant enter separately after ''Dracula's Curse'' but before ''Curse of Darkness''.** Simon enters a year following the events of the first ''Castlevania''.** Maria enters the Rift between the events of ''Rondo of Blood'' and ''Symphony of the Night''. To be specific, 3 years after ''Rondo'' (or 2 years before ''Symphony'').** Alucard enters the Rift sometime after the events of ''Symphony'' and after passing on the Alucard Spear to the Lecarde clan, but how long after cannot be determined.** Cornell enters the rift right before ''Legacy'' starts.** Shanoa enters during the events of ''Order of Ecclesia''.** Eric enters a decade before ''Bloodlines''.** The timeframes for the villains can't be confirmed, but Dracula must logically enter after ''Bloodlines'' and before 1999, when Julius Belmont kills him once and for all.* CuteClumsyGirl: In addition to her super move's odd outcome, Maria randomly trips during two of her moves. It's a ScrappyMechanic, as it leaves her open to any combo or super move even if her move connects.* DarkIsNotEvil: Cornell and Golem pull this off, tear-jerkingly so for the latter.* DealWithTheDevil: Subverted. Cornell asks Death if he knows how to cure his condition. Death responds in the affirmative and offers to do it. Cornell refuses; he only wanted to confirm that there ''was'' a way.* DownerEnding: The fate of characters in the time rift is unalterable, so [[spoiler:Eric still dies in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaPortraitOfRuin'']].** Mixing this in with a PlayerPunch, [[spoiler:Golem reverts to a soulless being, and is slain by an unknown hunter]].** After his BlessedWithSuck experience and resolve to solve his problem in another way, Cornell will still lose his beastman abilities at the end of ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLegacyOfDarkness''... and in exactly the same way as if he had let Death remove them in the first place.* DramaticIrony: Sypha comes from a time prior to ''Castlevania III'', while the other three protagonists come from after it. Some of them take advantage of this.* EnemyMine: Aeon's method requires help from the other thirteen, including the villains. Death in particular is quick to aid him, as he knows what's going on.* {{Expy}}: Aeon is a composite of two time-manipulating characters from the series: St. Germain from ''Curse of Darkness'' (his organization, outfit, inability to directly act outside areas rifted from time, and Death rivalry) and the Chronomage from ''Aria of Sorrow'' (the [[Literature/AliceInWonderland White Rabbit]] motif with color, pocketwatch, and obsession with being on time, and his opposition to Galamoth).* FlechetteStorm: Grant has a stance, meter-draining special move, and super move all devoted to filling the enemy with numerous knives.* FragileSpeedster: Grant is tied for the lowest health in the game and uses a fighting style based on quick movement and multiple low-damage hits. Similar fighting styles are used by Carmilla and Death, who have slightly more health but are still below average.* TheGhost: Galamoth is the mastermind behind the plot. He never appears in the game, and only a single line from the final boss establishes his involvement.* HeroicSacrifice: Oddly, the Golem has the most heart-wrenching story in the game. He becomes self-aware and strives to become human, only to sacrifice his newfound consciousness to save the rest of humanity.* IneffectualLoner: Eric, here portrayed as a child prior to the events of ''Bloodlines'', is unhappy with being TheLancer ([[BladeOnAStick literally]]) to the Morris clan, and goes out to prove he's good enough on his own. Others call him out on his arrogance, and he ends up begrudgingly accepting his fate in the end.* InformedAbility: One of Death's victory lines is "I decide who lives and who dies. You could not expect to win." [[RecurringBoss This hasn't]] [[EnemiesWithDeath been supported]] [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu by the series]]. ([[ThatOneBoss Not canonically, anyways.]])* InternalReveal: True Story Mode. During the normal story mode's progression, Aeon tells each character about the time rift, suggests that they pursue their goals, holds back during the initial fight, and is not seen again except for claiming soul keys. At no point does he reveal that he is a time traveler or that the timeline is in peril... until Death reveals that he knows the truth during his story mode. Aeon also explains it to Dracula, but it is only in True Story Mode that he tells anyone else about the situation or shows off his clock-based moves in battle. The implication is that he is only entrusting a single character, who he believes can solve the crisis, with the truth.* IntraFranchiseCrossover: The character [[BigBad Galamoth]] plots to send the [[TheDragon Time Reaper]] from 10,000 years in the future into the past to destroy his rival {{Dracula}} and change history. A man named Aeon discovers this and pulls together champions from [[Franchise/{{Castlevania}} different eras of history]] into a time rift, in order to find a chosen one capable of destroying Galamoth's servant, the Time Reaper.* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Grant's storyline resolves with this.* JigglePhysics: In '''spades'''.* KickingAssInAllHerFinery: All the ladies, given the detailed clothes they have on.* KnightTemplar: Sypha comes off as this in her story. Firmly believing [[DarkIsEvil the forces of darkness]] to be ultimately responsible for the [[BurnTheWitch persecution of her kind]], she attacks any and all who wield it without provocation, including [[DarkIsNotEvil Cornell and Shanoa]].* LimitBreak: The Hyper Attacks.** Cornell can use his meter to go into [[SuperMode a faster, stronger alternate mode]].** Grant can also use his to [[FlechetteStorm throw dozens of knives at his opponent]], although if the first few knives don't connect, then he is left wide open until he is hit or finishes. The only real use of this is against the Time Reaper, who can't get hit by standard {{Limit Break}}s.** Death can use his meter to fly for a while.** Shanoa and Golem can use theirs to keep their dashes going.** Dracula can use his in order to keep himself suspended in the air. This eats his meter noticebly faster than the rest of the characters, but it allows him to use a combo that does a lot of damage and is hard to escape from once it hits. The problem is hitting with it.* LoveTriangle: Grant's storyline stems from his unrequited feelings for Sypha, who went on to marry Trevor.* MechanicallyUnusualFighter: Dracula has little-to-no mobility and cannot be knocked down. His dash/sidestep moves are all changed to teleports, including a variant where he teleports directly behind the opponent. Rather than jump, he teleports into the air and can stay up there for as long as his super meter holds out. The majority of his attacks, including normal ones, are projectiles and ranging moves. Basically, he utilizes a variant of his standard ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' moveset, in contrast to other boss characters who are given more traditional fighter designs.* MovesetClone: Simon and Trevor -- same Vampire Killer, different applications.* MsFanservice: Carmilla alone [[VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes jacks up the age rating of this game]].* [[MustMakeHerLaugh Must Make Him Laugh]]: Grant's special quotes against [[TheStoic Alucard]] show getting ol' Al to show any kind of emotion as one of his goals.* NoFlowInCGI: Due to technical limitations, no characters retain flowing hair or outfits. Particularly noticeable in the case of [[RapunzelHair Shanoa]].* NobleWolf: Cornell is a knight wolf here to save his sister!* OldSaveBonus: Linking to ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'' unlocked some stuff automatically in both games.* OnlySixFaces: You can make a game out of figuring out which ''Manga/DeathNote'' character each character most resembles. Simon looks like Light, Maria looks like Misa, Aeon looks like Near...* OverlyLongFightingAnimation: Each character's super move takes over ten seconds to play out, and none of them can be skipped.* PaletteSwap: ''Curse of Darkness'' fans will recognize the Time Reaper immediately.* PimpedOutDress: Maria, packed to the brim with loli-goth appeal and zippers.* PlaceBeyondTime: None of the battles fought within the time rift have any effect on the timeline. Trevor takes advantage of this when fighting Sypha, and Death occasionally laments that his victories are meaningless.* PromotedToPlayable: If you wish for Death, here he is. Dracula himself follows soon afterward.* RewardingVandalism: In true ''Castlevania'' fashion, items are obtained by breaking fragile objects that litter the field.* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: One wouldn't normally think that removing Dracula from power qualifies as ''wrong'', but [[HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct those who know temporal mechanics disagree]].* ShapeshifterModeLock: As long as Cornell's in the time rift, he's stuck in wolf form.* SNKBoss: The Time Reaper certainly qualifies. His health bar is three times as long as anyone else, and he gains new attacks as you chip away at his health bar, including the ability to fire FrickinLaserBeams out of his hands, summon random magical explosions, and even self-destruct without taking damage. This is taken UpToEleven on [[NintendoHard Brutal difficulty]], where the number of attacks, as well as their strength, go up.* SphereOfDestruction: The result of getting hit with Dracula's Dark Meggido.* TheStarscream: Much like in the non-canon [[SpinoffBabies Kid Dracula]], Galamoth is once again trying to wrestle away control from the Dark Lord (this aspect of his personality was also briefly hinted at in his ''[=SotN=]'' bio). He fails yet again. * {{Stripperiffic}}: Carmilla's outfit. Oddly, she usually wears ''less'' than this in most of her other appearances.* TeleportSpam: Dracula can do this. Players will enjoy doing it, [[SNKBoss get mad at the A.I. of the Dracula from the last stage of the non-story mode,]] then get mad when more skillful players ruin their attempt at doing the same.* TenThousandYears: "I come from ten thousand years hence."** Which, considering the fight prominently takes place outside of any actual timeline, [[FridgeLogic doesn't make any sense at all]].* TimeMaster: Ultimately, the game is a duel between two of them: Aeon and the Time Reaper.* TitleScream: Said by a random character each time. Golem can use four-syllable words?* TokenMiniMoe: Eric and Maria.* TooManyBelts: [[http://www.castlevaniadungeon.net/Images/Scans/judgment/trevor.jpg More like Trevor BELTmont, amirite?]] Seriously though, his vest is made of them.* VanHelsingHateCrimes: Sypha, in her effort to destroy evil, has no tolerance for cursed beings. No matter how benevolent they are. She even hates on ''Shanoa'' because of this.* VictoryQuote: Leading to many a ClicheStorm. Some just scream ''Soul Calibur''.* WeCanRuleTogether: Death's storyline is about attempting to convert heroes to Dracula's side.* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Golem wants to know.* WholePlotReference: If you squint hard enough, to ''VideoGame/KidDracula'' [[CanonDiscontinuity of all games]]. Galamoth is trying again to usurp Dracula, take his throne, and control the Netherrealm. The Time Reaper's "I come from ten thousand years hence" line refers to 10,000 A.D., the date of ''Kid Dracula''. In ''Kid Dracula'', Galamoth has in his service [[TheGrimReaper a reaper]] named Shinigami-San, which is Death's name in Japan, thus linking him to the Time Reaper.* YouDontLookLikeYou: Some of the character redesigns are so drastic that their names, weapons and dialogue are the only reliable indicators of who they're supposed to be.* YourSoulIsMine: The fate of anyone hit by Death's super move. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation Supposedly.]]----